Nasser in the driver’s seat at Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI: Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah stormed to a fourth successive stage victory in the car category at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, as Dubai-based Sam Sunderland won the motorcycle special to regain the advantage on two wheels and Poland’s Rafal Sonik stormed to the top of the quad rankings on Tuesday.

Nasser and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel stormed to the car stage win in cooler and windier conditions in their Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux. The Qatari now heads Abu Dhabi Racing’s Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi by 39min 38sec with two days remaining.

“Today, the same,” said Nasser. "The car is working very well – a perfect stage for us. There is no advantage to coming here before. This is the desert. It is always changing. Saying that, it was much cooler today in the car. We do not have air conditioning. We saw 51 degrees yesterday. Today was better and it also gives more performance from the engine. Two days to go, but we will drive at the same pace. It’s a good pace.”

Czech driver Martin Prokop is on course for a career-best cross-country rally finish. The former WRC star clocked the fourth fastest time and holds third place, but Qatar’s Mohammed Issa Abu Issa got stuck, lost a jack and dropped to fourth. Press Release